Yanina Wickmayer free to compete

I think this complicated case is finally over – Yanina Wickmayer’s ban was suspended by a Belgian court on Monday and now the International Tennis Federation, having consulted the World Anti-Doping Agency, has confirmed that Wickmayer is eligible to start competing.

The world No.16 has a wildcard for ASB Classic in Auckland, and is hoping to get a wildcard to play in the Australian Open. (via Women Who Serve, photo: emmett.hume)

5 thoughts on “Yanina Wickmayer free to compete”

Over? I hope not. Tennis needs an enforceable drug enhancement testing procedure. If someone like Wickmayer, can >behave< like a drug enhancement abuser, but get excused, I come to the conclusion that there needs to be different drug-enhancement testing procedures.

Finally, this is over!Yanina should put this behind her and concentrate on 2010.

tennisfan, you cannot punish someone for a crime unless you can prove beyond "reasonable" doubt that they did infact commit that crime.

In Yanina's case, she was suspended because she was not "at home" which was the default option to get tested. Instead she was travelling "for competition". She simply didn't have enough awareness about the test and its various options.

The authorities went to her house in Belgium to test her, when she was actually travelling around the world, participating in tournaments, undergoing testing as a part of these tournaments.

When they didn't find her at home three times in a row, they decided to slap this ban.

You must note here that:

1)They are required to inform her after the first two visits, that she has missed these tests.But they didn't.

2)Yanina says that there wasn't not adequate information given prior to the launch of this new testing procedure.

3)She was undergoing testing as a part of various tournaments she participated during the same time! If she was cheating, won't results have shown something by now?

You must look at her past record. She has never refused any kind of testing before.

Karunya, I completely agree with you. It's unjust to punish the player if the system of registering and its malfunction were the reason why she could not comply with the rules. Who should be punished is the software engineers who has set this stupid system up and cannot get it to work.